Side-Effects
by DarkForestWolf
Summary: Armin comes down with a terrible disease that will inevitably take his life. And as ironic as it is, things wind up much worse for him than death.
1. Chapter 1

**So, there was an idea I had and decided to hop to it before I forgot.**

 **Hope you all love some Armin, because you've come to the right place! Watch as our little coconut becomes a true soldier at heart and fights for the good of man kind, even if it takes a monsters hand to do whats right. Please review if would be ever so kind and chat among yourselves about the fic.**

 **Enjoy!**

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Armin thought nothing of the small headache when he first woke up, dismissing it easily as a poor result to the lack of sleep he's been getting.

Personal health was never really the first thing on his mind, many other more important things needed to be thought about rather then himself, however he did make a small note that involved going to bed a little earlier than most others would. He wasn't a big fan of getting sick and wanted to at least put at a little effort into trying to avoiding it.

He got ready for his usual daily attire without a problem; correctly putting on all the straps to his uniform as he got dressed and even managing to get through a few chapters in one of his favorite books before finally going out to have breakfast. He decided not to mention to anyone about the headache, assuring himself it would eventually go away through out the day.

Today Armin had been assigned to go out and clean up the supply room, simply rearranging and organizing things here and there to make things a little neater, and of course to fit his captains approval. It still amazes him how much time they are given every now and then just to clean up around the large facility.

Mikasa and Jean were also assigned to the project, giving the blond a good advantage to getting things done much faster, he most certainly wasn't the strongest soldier and was very grateful to have at least some muscle around to help out with the heavy objects. Mikasa was a lot stronger than most males and could easily surpass someone like him in many things, strength being one of them entirely, not to mention her bravery and even combat skills. Jean had some potential himself, again, many that surpassed Armin's own skills, but his ego usually got in the way and he'd sometimes mess up on his objectives as he would try to show off. Either way having him here was better than no one, and that's all that mattered right now.

Armin let out a huge sigh as he wiped the sweat off his forehead, he actually started feeling worse when evening finally came, all energy completely drained from his being despite having plenty this morning. He's only been put to work for 15 minutes and he was already ready to call it a day.

What on earth was wrong with him?

"Armin, are you feeling alright?" Mikasa asks calmly, putting down a set of large boxes outside the cluttered room before making her way over to the next batch nearby. "You look kind of pale."

Armin gives her a weary smile and shakes his head, wincing in pain to his mistake. His headache was much worse than before, the throbbing and pulsing of his brain making it much harder to focus on any work that needed to be done. The silence within the supply room helped, but it didn't make things easier when something as simple as moving sent a ringing sensation to his ears, even the sound of human tongue made him feel dizzy.

Mikasa frowned at the lack of his response and turned to look at the him. He was pinching the bridge of his nose and concentrating really hard on something, eyes closed and lower lip slightly bitten down. She calls out his name again a little louder. "Armin."

Armin slowly looks up at her and lowers his hand, eyes locked to one of the boxes in front of him. ""Hm? No! I mean...yes? I don't know, it's just that my head is killing me today."

"Oh?" Mikasa questions. "For how long?"

"Since this morning. Maybe it's from the lack of sleep, or even the lack of food."

"You haven't been eating?"

"Yes, of course I have, but I didn't sleep very well last night."

The female soldier blinked. "Nightmares?"

Armin opened his mouth, but was a little hesitant to answer. His nightmares have been more frequent, but he certainly doesn't complain about them, most of everyone would think the same way considering that they have the same problem at night.

He only sighed and shrugged.

Mikasa continued. "If it's that bad maybe you should just sit this one out for the day. I'll clean up everything and-"

"Ah, no that's alright, really. I'm capable of at least re-stacking a few boxes." Armin looked around and spotted an opened box full of countless parts to some of their old maneuver gear equipment, parts usually used to patch up whatever needs to be fixed. He smiled and walked over to it, bending down and attempting to pick it up. "See I can do this."

Mikasa flinched seeing him start to lose his footing. "Armin, that's pretty heavy."

"No it's not." He retorted a little to quickly, taking a small step forward and stumbling about again, a small beat of sweat running down the side of his cheek. He could feel his heart beat increasing as his breathing got heavy, his headache growing worse with each intake of air. Armin's world began to spin, making it almost impossible to focus, a small gasp leaving him as his knees suddenly gave into the pressure.

Pale hands carefully grasped the other end of the wooden crate as Mikasa found herself rushing across the small room towards him, quickly taking away the large object and placing the burden upon herself as the other hit the ground with a heavy thud. Armin winced in pain after the unexpected impact and slowly looked up to stare at his companion, his vision blurred.

She was right to worry about him after all...

The raven haired teen placed down the crate beside her and looked him over thoroughly, surprised to not have noticed the small changes in his appearance earlier. His face really was much more pale, lacking the usual flush red color it had while working under the heat of the morning sun, he also had looked much thinner despite all the food he has been given lately.

To put it bluntly.

He looked terrible.

Pushing such thoughts aside, Mikasa held out her hand and helped him up. She knew Armin wasn't the type to complain easily, it sometimes took a lot of pestering and pleading just to find out if he had injured himself during one of their expeditions.

"Thank you." Armin says shyly, sweaty palms taking her hand.

Mikasa nods."I'm going to do this for now, you just go over there and rest for a bit." Armin begins to protest but is stopped by the raise of her hand. "Just rest for at least an hour, you look like you really need it."

"Mikasa, I can handle some boxes. Not all of them, but the small ones, I guess." He coughs twice into his hand, feeling how stiff and soar his body was. Maybe taking a break wasn't such a bad idea. Mikasa was definitely capable of doing this by herself and sleep never sounded so amazing.

Mikasa looks him over again before answering, still a little hesitant to her words. "Fine. Only the small ones."

Armin gave her a small smile. "Alright then."

"Well, Jean has a few things outside he's handling himself, you can go help him."

"That sounds reasonable." Armin says with a sigh before taking his leave.

She was still very unsure with his decision, and even had to hold herself back from changing her mind and forcing him to take a break, but even if she did he would always find a way to talk her out of it. Armin might not have the strength, but he most certainly had quite the intelligence and definitely knew how to use it well.

Just as Armin stepped out into the open air he was unexpectedly caught off guard by the scorching heat, a wave a dizziness hitting him hard as he saw the world around him start to spin. He caught his balance on a large barrel near by and thanked the gods he wasn't going to be here much longer, the supply room wasn't very dusty or cluttered to begin with because a few of his other friends had the same duty there a couple weeks ago. If he had to guess an exact estimate to how much longer he would be here, Armin would give at least 10 more minutes.

If he could just get through 10 more minutes, all of this would pay off...

The sudden feeling of nausea came over the blond fast as his stomach started to gurgle and turn in very painful knots. He burped and covered his mouth, the heavy taste of bile lingering in the back of his throat. Armin tried to swallow it down.

"Hey, are you ok over there?" A voice - Jean's voice - came from the distance as he came out from inside the horse pen, a shovel in one hand and a large metal pale in the other. He lifted a brow and took a few steps closer. "Armin, shouldn't you be helping Mikasa? Oh wait, your just taking a break aren't you?" He sighed and lifted the shovel to place over his shoulder. "Yeah, that doesn't sound bad at all in my opinion. It's to hot to be doing any of this crap."

Armin's eyes widened and he quickly turns to get away, taking only two steps forward before instinctively bending over and heaving out all of the contents placed into his stomach.

Jean carelessly tossed his utensils aside and rushed over to his aid, cursing under his breath before calling out to Mikasa, telling her to come outside. It only took seconds for her to spot out the situation and quickly go into action, putting a comforting hand on Armin's back as he emptied his contents.

Jean backed away slowly and watched the two of them in shock. Mikasa clicked her tongue and pointed to the abandoned bucket. "Go get that and bring it here, then find Ms. Zoe! She's in charge of us today for cleaning duty."

Jean stuttered as he spoke. "A-Alright, but-"

Mikasa gave him a cold glance. "Just go!"

With a short nod he went and fetched her the pale before going to seek help, bumping into a small box in his path as he left. It wasn't the first time he had seen someone throw up unexpectedly, but just seeing it sent a nervous shiver down his spine. Vomiting was definitely not his favorite thing to do.

Armin's eyes started to water as his body forcibly continued to ride out with his humiliation. It was so embarrassing to have someone see him in such a discussing state! He never wanted anyone to see him like this!

Mikasa did her best to try and calm him down, her words of comfort falling on deaf ears as she continued to rub his back in small gentle circles. She wanted to kick herself for not being more stern on Armin, forcing him to rest when he needed to most. 'How long has he even felt this way?' She thought, and started to think back.

Two days ago he did trip while going down the stairs with her to get dinner, thankfully Sasha was also their to catch him before he could hit the ground, but it happened again a few minutes later on the next stairwell, Armin started using the railing for the rest of the day after that. The following day she heard that it took Connie a couple of tries to get Armin up and out of bed in the morning, which was pretty odd considering he was the one who usually got up earlier than most others before breakfast. No one really thought much of it though, thinking that he just stayed up late reading one of the many books he had stashed under his comforter.

Mikasa mentioned those experiences to the doctor, despite how harmless and minor they seemed, before being badgered with countless questions about the boy; questions like what he last ate and-or if he was allergic to anything. She answered all of them of course, but it still didn't take away the small tinge of guilt she had for not taking note of things sooner.

The doctor scribbled down something on the wooden clipboard she carried before looking up from it to face Hange, her blue eyes scanning the information on paper one last time. She gave a low sigh and slid her small pen into the pocket of her white coat.

"I still haven't figured out what's wrong yet despite what Ms. Ackerman has told me so far." She spoke in a deep, meaningful tone. "However, I can determine that he is in critical condition."

Hange lifted a brow and folded her arms. "Is he now?"

The doctor nodded. "He has a terrible fever and his heart rate is fairly above normal. It seems as if his body is fighting off something that isn't there."

"That's odd, he seemed fine this morning. Is he awake now?"

"No, he passed out just seconds after we got him into the infirmary. You can see him if you like, just try not to disturb him until he wakes up. I can tell already that he has pushed himself a little to hard despite the condition he's in."

Hange turned to Mikasa who stood close by with Jean, the two soldiers waiting patiently by the infirmary door. The scientist gave the both of them a small smile. "See you two, he's fine. It's probably just some nasty bug he caught."

"I want to go and see him." Mikasa states firmly. Jean quickly protests.

"Hold on, what if what he has is contagious?"

The doctor gave her clipboard another glance. "He's not contagious. I took a small blood sample from him and found out that whatever he has has been inside him for a very long time, it's just now only starting to resurface again."

Jean blinked. "Wait, he's had this for a while now? For how long exactly?"

"I honestly can't quite confirm that either. All I know is that if he doesn't over come this soon, it could most likely be resolved in death."

Mikasa's heart dropped.

Armin was a very strong willed and determined soldier, constantly hungry for knowledge that would help them out strategically and even sometimes mentally, but physical strength was definitely not in his best qualities.

Even since they were kids Mikasa knew just as well as Eren that Armin was a sickly child, constantly getting colds and catching the flu almost every winter. The reason they even knew each other at all was because Eren's father, who was a very well known and liked doctor in Shiganshina at the time, occasionally visited the Arlert's when Armin needed to be checked on. Even at the age of 16 it still seems that such illnesses could still get the best of the young blond.

"Wait, death!? Now hold on a minute, if he's had it for so long why isn't he dead already? I mean, Shouldn't he be? Why hasn't there been-" Jean's rant was quickly cut off by Mikasa.

"Is there nothing we can do? Nothing at all?" She asks in a low, shaken tone. She had always been ready to hear about her friends death, knowing very well that one day he would most likely be taken by the hands of the carnivorous monsters beyond the walls, but hearing it now, hearing it in such a way that rendered her powerless to stop it even when the problem was right in front of her...

"I'm sorry, but I don't think there is." Explained the doctor, and Mikasa could feel a small lump forming in her throat.

Hange frowned. "Can we at least go see him?"

She thought about it, thought about it a lot longer then she probably should of. Mikasa stiffened. "Well, if you'd like. I suggest only one person at a time though." she finally said. "I don't want anyone to over whelm him at this point."

Without hesitation, Mikasa pushed herself passed Jean and entered the room before anyone had the chance to stop her. She spotted the blond immediately. His hair was bathed in sweat as it pooled out onto the pillow, his heavy breathing breaking the rooms silent void. She slowly made her way over to his bedside, a little hesitant to run her fingers through his long thin hair. Her mother would do small things like that when she was very young and ill.

Jean looked through the door frame along with his superior, both worried and slightly baffled at his state. Not even an hour ago was he walking around and talking to others like usual. It all just seemed to hit him at once without any warning.

"I'll leave you two alone." The doctor said as she scribbled down a few more things with her pen. "Make sure he drinks plenty of fluids for now, i'll be back in a few days to check on him again." She respectfully gave a small bow before taking her leave, leaving the three of them in her patients care until then.

Hange narrowed her eyes. "This is going to sound a little strange for the both of you, but I would like it if you two could keep this to yourselves for now and not tell anyone about Armin's condition."

Mikasa looked over to her. "Is there a reason why?" She asks in a cold tone, carefully getting off the floor and facing the open window.

"There is a reason actually, but I can't quite give you that information just yet. Trust me on this one."

The other female glared at her, brows knitted together in annoyance. "Fine," She accepts, knowing very well there was nothing she could do about it at this time. "but I want to stay here a little longer, just to make sure he doesn't get worse or anything."

Jean was worried that her request sounded more like a demand, but Hange either chose to ignore her attitude or never noticed, giving her a smile and gave the approval willingly.

"If that's what you'd prefer. As for me though it's my job to report this to the commander and Levi of course, I have no choice or saying in the matter, he was on my watch after all."

With the approval, Mikasa pulled up a chair from the other side of the room and sat next to Armin's bedside.

Jean already knew he had to keep his mouth shut about all of this, no one needed to tell him that, so he thought it would be best to continue his routine for the day and finish up work for the both of them. Who knew how long it would take to do it all by himself, but at this point, he honestly couldn't have cared less.

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It was around noon when the nose bleeds started.

It caught Mikasa off guard when she spotted red leaking onto the clean white sheets, very careful when taking a napkin from Armin's barley touched lunch, brought up to him by Hange's assistant, and wiping it away. It happened again minutes later but came out heavier, giving the boy a bigger migraine as he almost passed out into her arms. He blew into the stained red napkin before pinching his nose and slightly tilting his head up.

"Do you feel any worse?" She asked, her voice low and gentle. Mikasa already knew conversation wouldn't be much help, but wanted to try and have him say something never the less; Armin hasn't even made a sound since the incident, doing nothing but sleep and sweat for almost half of the day. She was at least a little grateful he hasn't thrown up again.

Armin glanced at her and let go of his nose. "I-" he started, now taking his attention to his hand to see small drops of blood. "...I feel fine." A small cough left his chapped lips forcing him to turn away.

The female frowned and picked up a bowl of soup from his small tray, stirring around a silver spoon inside it's warm contents. "It seems to have cooled down a little." She lifted the spoon and offered a little bit to him. He leaned away from it and subconsciously tightened his lips, eyeing it over as if it wear poison. "You have to at least take a couple bites, Armin." He continued to refuse.

"Thank you, but I'm really not that hungry right now." He looked over to the tray resting on a small table top near by and spotted a small loaf of bread. His stomach turned at the very site of it, but he knew deep down she was right- he really did need to eat something if he wanted to make any progress on getting better. He lifted a finger and pointed to the small loaf. "I-I think I can have a little bit of that though."

Mikasa looked over her shoulder and back at the tray, handing him over the bowl before reaching over to retrieve the pastry. "Would you like some butter on it?" Armin gave a light nod. She leaned over again to retrieve the knife and a cup of sliced butter, they weren't given the stuff very often so it seamed Hange did pull of few strings to make this meal a little more decent.

She pulled off a piece and smeared some on before popping it into his mouth. Armin really didn't like the idea of being fed by hand, but knowing Mikasa she probably could care less what he thought right now. He swallowed as she picked off another piece to feed him, both caught by surprised when someone from outside dropped what sounded like to be a large pale, creating a loud bang.

Armin gasped and jumped a little, the hot bowl in his hands spilling over and onto his shirt and arms. With his throat soar it was a lot more painful to scream, instantly ripping off the covers to try and take off his shirt. Mikasa remained calm and helped him out, putting down everything in her hands and lifting up Armin's painfully stiff arms to take off the stained garment.

The soup turned out to be hotter then she had anticipated. His now bare chest was all red but his arms were covered in burn marks now, not sever ones but enough to notice. She used the blanket to clean him up some more, watching as drops of tears fell down his sticky red cheeks, tears of both physical and mental pain. Armin's never felt more humiliated in his life up until now!

Hange's assistant came through the door again and took in the situation, running off to get some medical supplies and clean towels after asking the both of them to stay put. 'Like I could go anywhere,' Armin thought.

"Hang on." Mikasa calmly states and begins to take off her jacket, wiping up any left over spills she had missed and trying to suppress his painful wound. She looked around some more and spotted his forgotten cup of water. She got up quickly and went to retrieve it, using another set of napkins to dip inside and care for his wounds.

After she got up Armin tightly shut his eyes to try and ignore the pain growing in his head and now his arms. His tears felt just like the soup as they slid down his face, painful and unwanted. His body started to tremble, the tears now overflowing as a wave of shame swept over him. He wanted nothing more than to just disappear at this point! No. Not only did he just want to disappear, but he wanted the pain, his illness- All of it! to just disappear! He was so humiliated by everything that his whole body was on fire with rage and embarrassment by how weak he really was.

Actually, he really did feel like he was on fire.

He opened his eyes and looked back down at his arms through blurred vision, watching in shock as steam started to repel off of his pale skin. The room grew quiet again, both himself and now Mikasa watching as his wounds started to fade away.

His skin slowly started to patch up together, the red marks even on his chest vanishing in thin waves of smoke. Armin could even feel the pain slipping away.

His tears dried up instantly, as if they've evaporated themselves through all the heat surrounding him. The two of them observed in shock for what seemed like hours before both wounds were patched up completely, not a single scratch or mark left behind. Armin's hands started to tremble in disbelief, his mind racing and heart feverishly pounding.

Mikasa was the first to snap out of her shocked state and took a small step closer to her friend. Armin continued to stare at his arms, eyes wide and frightful. He would never be able to answer or even understand how he felt at this moment, no word he could think of matched the way he felt.

"...Armin." Mikasa finally spoke up, her light voice shattering the intense atmosphere.

He never looked away or even flinched at her, lost in his own deep sea of thoughts as his mind continued to process all of this. She took a few steps closer to him and further examined his arms. They were both fully healed. They looked as if nothing had every happened. Just like...

"Just like Eren..." She muttered ever so faintly under her breath, but it was close enough for the blond to fully understand. His eyes jolted as if he'd been shocked, the reality of the situation coming down on him hard. He tentatively held himself as his breathing started to increase, his heart rate speeding up dramatically as a thick bead of sweat came down his already drenched forehead.

Neither of them had any idea what to do.


	2. Chapter 2

**And the next chapter is finally here. I hope you all enjoy it! :D**

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It wasn't until the end of the day when Eren finally heard the news.

For a moment he didn't say anything, simply letting Hange's words sink in as he thought about the new situation. He opened his mouth, but quickly closed it shut. What was there really to say? Was there even anything he could say?

Wait a minute...

"So, is there any chance I could go see him!?" Eren finally blurted out. It most certainly wasn't the first question on his mind, but it wasn't like he could just put aside the problem and not try anything. Even if he did know her answer already it didn't really seem to matter.

"I'm afraid not." Hange states calmly, crossing her arms and leaning back into her chair as she spoke. "Really sorry we had to keep this from you all day, but we didn't want you seemingly distracted in any of your training, and considering we have some 'guests' coming over in a few weeks we have to make sure your in your right mind so you can transform, if you know what I mean."

Eren clenched his teeth. "But that's in a few weeks! Surley one day wouldn't kill me! Even if you give me a few minutes with him it will be fine!"

Hange thought about it. "Well, if it were up to me, I would have no problem with that, but Erwin gave me strict orders to go over some things with you today. I would have asked him around noon, but it turns out he had a meeting at that time, and it's not like I could ask him then."

"But what about now?! Can I see him right now!?"

"Hmm...Supposedly, I could ask Levi, he is keeping an eye on Arlert right now so-"

"So I can go ask him then!" Eren perked up.

Hange shrugged. "I don't see the harm in it. Follow me and i'll give you your answer when we get there."

Eren quickly got out of his chair and pursued to follow her out the door, scrambling around for some questions at the top of his head. "Has he gotten any better? Over the past few hours I mean."

The female smirked. "I'm certain he's doing just fine! I've only seen him the one time today but it looks like something he'll get over eventually, so don't fret to much on this. A few days rest and things will be back to normal before you know it." It wasn't much, but seeing that her words took a little weight off the teens chest it put herself a little more at ease. She loosened herself up a little more and patted Eren on the shoulder. "Everything will be fine, I promise!"

The brunet flinched a little with the sudden contact, but evidently gave her a small smile in return; not very convincing.

On their way Hange did nothing but think positive of the situation, going on about somethings to do with having the best doctors and medicine in the district before asking Eren to wait patiently outside the door while she stepped inside the room. Mikasa was forced to leave at some point by Commander Levi himself when, according to Moblit, 'All else failed'. A small image of the mans annoyed expression quickly crossed her mind as she recalled him mumbling about the female subordinate earlier.

She smiled and waved at the blond seeing he was awake, catching the opportunity to try and brighten up the mood. "Hello there, Glad to see your still up. How've ya been?" He didn't say a word, continuing to give the wall ahead of him a blank stare. She looked around some more and lifted a brow. "Odd, isn't anyone with you right now? Did Levi already come visit?"

It took a moment, the mere mention of his name finally bringing the teen to her attention. "He-" Armin's voice cracked. Instinctively he cleared his throat. "He was here."

Hange crossed her arms and sighed. "Damn, guess I'm gonna have to track him down myself. Maybe if I find that spare cravat of his and hide in the horse pasture he'll come and find me then." She saw a look of worry wash over the boys face and laughed. "That, or he'll just kick my ass again and make me titan bait on our next expedition. That's a more realistic scenario."

Armin tried to show some enthusiasm with the scientists conversation, even just a little bit, but just the sound of her voice only aggravated the ongoing migraine he had. He knew she was trying to keep things a little upbeat for him, but some things were just better off left alone.

"Well, don't mind me, I wont overstay my visit, just passing through-"

"Ms. Hange." He started.

The small voice catches her attention and she lifts a brow. "Yes?"

Armin glances away from her for a second, looking down at the sheets instead. He tightens his lips together and starts to fiddle with his fingers.

Hange questions him again. "Is there something I can get you?"

He finally gives a very low sigh and coughs into his hand, pulling the sheets closer to him. "I uh... is there a chance I can have another glass of water?"

"Why of course you can! I'll get someone right on it, so rest until then alright?" He forced a small smile and thanked her, taking note of the familiar pair of green eyes peaking through a small crack in the door frame. He squinted at the figure, watching it instantly vanish as soon as it was spotted. Armin blinked with surprise. "Was that...was that Eren?"

Hange frowned, turning around and making her way over to the supposed other. She peaked outside and looked over at the brunet. "Eren, I told you-"

"I know! I'm sorry, I really am! It's just that-" He straitened his poster and looked away for a moment. "I can't sit around and do nothing. I'm done with my training for today so it just doesn't make any sense why you won't let me see him already. You won't even let me look at him!"

"Eren, listen-" Hange started, looking over her shoulder and back at the blond who remained silent. Unsure, she glanced at the two of them, finally giving in with a sigh. "Alright, but no more than two minutes, ok?"

She opened the door and Eren instantly stepped inside, his heart sinking seeing the state his friend was in. It was all so... familiar. He knows he's seen something like this before. He started thinking back on the days Armin actually got sick, days he would travel along side with his dad to try and help him get better. He resented those days. Those days were always hard for him, watching Armin struggle while he was rendered helpless. It was hard to watch someone struggle so much and not being able to do a damn thing about it.

Eren knew that feeling far to well.

Shaking the painful memories away he made his way over to the blond, his expression softening as he loosened himself up a bit seeing the tentativeness in the others gaze. "Hey." He simply starts, keeping his usually strong tongue at bay.

Armin looks away from him, placing a pale hand over his lower arm. "I feel fine, if your wondering that."

Eren only nods, for a moment looking over to Hange who remained by the door. "How long have you been feeling this way? Why didn't you tell anyone you weren't feeling good?"

A light shrug. "I felt fine this morning, just passed out outside because of the heat that's all. Probably just a passing fever, right?" He looked back up gave a gentle smile. This made Eren uncomfortable.

"Just passed out? Armin, you can't just overwork yourself to the point were your up in the medical room! If you don't feel well just sit down for a while and take a breather."

"I told you i'm alright, Eren. And if it makes you feel any better I promise to take better care of myself, ok?" Armin started to cough into his arm, eyes shut tight as he held back a painful groan from his irritated throat. He leaned back and fell on his pillow, this time pulling the covers off of him. Why on earth was it so hot?

"Do you want me to get you anything? I haven't eaten dinner yet so you can have that if you want." Eren offered, and as sweet as that sounded, the very mention of food sent bile up Armin's swollen throat.

"No, i'm fine. You need to take care of yourself too. Mikasa wouldn't be very happy if she found out you skipped a meal."

"Mikasa doesn't have to find out, and I really don't care if she does, just eat something alright?"

Armin lightly chuckled. When had Eren become so mother-like with him? Maybe Mikasa's nature had somehow affected him a little bit. He closed his eyes and felt himself starting to drift off. "I'll eat something later, I promise." He states, listening to the sound of Eren's heavy footsteps getting closer. He felt his warm hand rest against his forehead for only a moment, retracting it as soon as Hange spoke up about staying away.

"I was just checking." Eren retorts, taking one last look at him before stepping out and into the hallway, Hange shutting the door with a small 'click' right behind him.

She looked over Eren carefully. "How do you feel?"

Eren made a questioning sound. "How do _I_ feel? I'm not the one sick and bedridden!" He ran a hand through his hair and looked back at the closed door. "Though I am upset he didn't tell anyone, but why does that matter?"

Hange shrugged. "Just checking. On another note, you have a busy day tomorrow so head on downstairs and eat what ever's left for you. You can also tell Mikasa and the others about your visit by the way, so no need to keep any more secrets."

He nodded and turned to walk away, looking over his shoulder once more. "Oh, uh...Thanks for letting me do this." He says quietly before heading down the wooden stairwell near by.

Hange smiled and also intended to take her leave before a familiar voice behind her asked what she was doing. She let out a startled gasp and instantly turned around, spotting the very man she was looking for. "Ah! Levi, hey! I've been looking for you ya know." She greets happily.

Levi only stared at her and pointed to the door beside her. "I thought I told you no one was to go in there, including Jeager."

Hange started to scratch the back of her head."Yeah, well, I was going to ask you, but you weren't there and then Arlert wanted him to come in and then Eren started to wine and-"

"I don't care if they both threatened to throw their own shit at you, you weren't suppose to let anyone in." His brows knitted together. "I know whatever he has isn't contagious or anything, but that's as far as we know. It could get worse or even spread over time and I don't want our entire fleet coming down with whatever this is."

Hange let out a sigh. "Yes, your right. I did risk it, but it was just something that couldn't be avoided."

Levi blinked. "How so?"

The scientist perked up. "Oh, that's right! I didn't tell you since Erwin was in a meeting. It's actually something both of you should hear, but considering the amount of patients you have I might as well spill the beans while I can." She pulled out a small notebook from her pocket and ripped out a page, handing it over to the other.

"What is this?"

"To put it simply, these are my notes. I've been keeping track of Eren and his transformations ever since we were told about the government's little visit."

He looked over the constant scribbles and drawings placed on the paper and narrowed his eyes. "The hell does this even say?"

"There records of his progress, but there is a catch I found just yesterday." She looked around and took a few steps away from Armin's room, making sure he was out of ears length before clearing her throat. "Apparently he's been a little more, how do I say it, 'aggressive'. Every time he transforms it's like his senses are somehow weakened depending on his mood. For instance, lets just say he stubs his toe and it for some reason ruins his day, that will affect how he transforms. His titan might try to smash or hit something in the process of that anger despite it being so minor. Get it?"

Levi looked back up at her. "How bad has it been?"

"Bad enough for me to try and have him avoid any contact with Arlert today." She says with a nervous chuckle. "I didn't want to add more fuel to the fire and it's bad enough that he's like a heated kettle just waiting to go off."

"So what your saying is he could possibly lose control if this keeps up?"

Hange nervously shifted her attention to the wall. "Well, that's another way of putting it, yes."

Levi sighed and gave her back her notes, starting to walk away. "Were going to notify this to Erwin as soon as he get's back, and since you've already checked up on Arlert today, I have no further business in there."

"By the way, why have you been keeping an eye on him all this time? I was the one responsible for him."

"Because your job was to be with Jeager today, all you did was give out the orders I assigned for everyone. 'I' on the other hand finished everything needed to be done."

Hange only smiled at the response. He would never admit it, but there was a small part of him that still cared for the squad. Despite all the constant insults and orders he would badger them with everyday, it wasn't to hard for her to figure that out, even if actions such as this would appear once in a blue moon. Still, she found it quiet intriguing.

"Well if that's the case." She says with a huff, catching up to him in a matter of steps. "I'll treat you with some tea as thanks. You like it bitter, yes?"

Levi clicked his tongue. "Like hell you'll make me some tea."

"Hey, I'm pretty good at it! I'll even make some for poor Arlert while i'm at it-"

"I am ordering you not to poison the both of us. Do it, and i'll have you scrubbing down the entire facility from top to bottom."

Hange frowned. "What!? I'm just offering you some tea, not a death wish!"

"If you really want to thank me go take a bath. For a while now I've started to see the wood on the wall start to peal off when you stay in a room for to long because you smell like literal crap."

"Ugh, I'll take a bath as soon as you allow me to at least make you one cup of lousy tea! I'm seriously hurt you won't take my kind offer."

"Good."

Hange only doubled over and laughed at his response. "Levi, your such an ass!"

"An _'ass'_ who prefers not to die by your hands." She laughed even harder, turning a few heads near by. Levi glanced at her and gave a low sigh. "I'm not joking."

"Yeah, yeah I know." She did her best to try and hold back, clearing her throat and looking away from him. "Let's just- lets just call it even if I re-due the windows for you, ok? I know for certain I can do that."

He gave it some thought. "Fine. I better not see even a finger print when your done though. I already have to do most of the work you never finish anyways."

Hange smiled and straitened out her glasses. "Glad to see you at least have a little hope for me still."

*(*)*(*)*(*)*(*)*

Armin heard the door shut behind Eren and slowly opened his eyes, giving a low sigh as he was finally left alone. He rolled over onto his side and faced the wall, wondering if he should have told her when he had the chance. It wasn't something to take lightly after all, but he really should have probably told his superior what happened.

About a week ago everyone was informed about the government's visit to inspect Eren, including Eren himself, which is why he has been given extra training sessions with Commander Hange Zoe to make sure nothing goes wrong. The very last thing they all needed to hear now was that he was capable of achieving something Eren could only do in his titan form, he didn't even know how it possible to begin with so answering any questions would be impossible. But if he didn't tell anyone, bad things were bound to happen, bad things that can ruin not only his life but everyone else he knew or were involved. Maybe it wouldn't be that bad if he spoke up now...

 _"I can't."_ Armin quickly reminded himself. _"Not yet anyways."_

He made a promise to Mikasa while she was here and beside him when everything happened - beside him and comforting him when everything happened. He couldn't go back on his word just because _he_ didn't feel right.

"Don't tell anyone about this." She told him sternly after calming him down, even making him promise twice that he wouldn't tell a soul. "I will handle this, so don't do anything until I tell you, understand?" He remembers giving a very vague and quiet answer, but an answer good enough to convince her that he understood.

The both of them remained silent for the rest of the time they had together, Armin thinking at the time it was because she knew any question she had could not be answered at that moment, but it was much more than that. She had already been through this once and never wanted to go through it again, Armin definatley in the same boat. He remembers very clearly what Eren had to go through and was very reluctant not to go down the same path, but it was a path that had to be crossed eventually and the both of them knew it.

Armin closed his eyes again and tried to fall back to sleep, the throbbing pain in his head somewhat better than it was that evening. It wasn't long before he figured out that it was impossible to continue his lull and decided to just rest in silence. He had a feeling no one else would be visiting for a while - until he needed some water or something at least - and started to go deep into thought, reassuring himself that no interruptions would be made.

He thought about his little incident, an incident definatley to remember. How did it even happen at all to begin with? Maybe he was asleep at that time and it was all just an enigma. Armin looked at his pale arms and saw no remaining scratches or burns. _"A dream."_ He told himself calmly, swallowing as he did, but he knew it was real, nothing about this was fake. Well, nothing about this was very pleasant either, so what if he lied to himself for a little while, he wasn't hurting anyone.

Armin let out another low sigh and coughed into one of his arms, switching his position and lying on his back while looking over to the small window near by. His heart skipped a beat at the sight before him.

An eye.

A very large eye was staring back at him.

Armin's jaw dropped a little, his own gaze slowly widening at the scene before him. It was as if time itself had came to a sudden halt and the only thing that could be heard was the pace of his beating heart.

The eye was very familiar to him. It was the gaze of a hungry, gluttonous titan, a titan that would take his life in a matter of seconds and do it however it seems fit.

The two continued to stare at one another, Armin's body starting to tremble under it's gaze as he knew how vulnerable and defenseless he was. He made a move to scream, to shout out to those who lied behind the entrance of his silent domain, but his voice was mute, nothing would come out; his mind going blank as he could think of no reason on how to escape or even make any sort of movement.

He was staring at death itself and there wasn't a thing he could do about it.

A low growl came from the beast, a growl deep and meaningful enough so send a cold shiver down his entire spine. Armin managed to croak out a small noise, his heart speeding up as sweat started to trickle down his forehead. It let out another groan, louder, and seemed to have taken a step closer. 15 meters- no, 16 meters was probably how tall it was, seeing that it could peek through a window so high up. It's brown eye relentlessly stared at him, looking him up and down and only once glancing around the small room.

Armin could feel how dry his mouth was and started thinking about the water he asked Hange to get him only moments ago, his mind starting to slip from the fear.

Suddenly the door creaked open and Hange's assistant came in, a small cloth in hand. He glanced over to Armin worryingly went over to his side. "Whats going on, did something happen?" He asked, seeing the others blank and frightful stare.

Armin quickly turned to face him and let out the air he unknowingly held back, his mouth moving but no words forming. Seeing how confused the man was he lifted his shaking hand and pointed over to the window. What was wrong with him!? How could he not see the-

Color drained from his already pale face as cool air came in and wafted passed the both of them, spotting the star lit sky accompanied by the moon above.

It was gone.

The titan left just as quickly as it came without a trace.

Armin's body stopped shaking and he slowly lowered his hand, eyes continuously wide and full of fear.

The assistant loosened his posture and looked over to the open window. "I-is it to cold? Do you want me to close the window?"

Armin didn't answer, instead slightly shaking his head without averting his gaze. He could feel his heart still beating feverishly against his soar rib cage, his fear almost instantly turning into shock in a matter of seconds. "But..." He finally managed to get out, his voice horse. The man glanced back at the window curiously.

"Did something fly in? A bird maybe?" He wasn't a doctor or any sort of medical assistant, but it was definatley easy to tell that something startled the teen. He placed the cloth on the desk near by and reached over to shut the window. "Um...If this makes you feel any better..."

Armin blinked, flinching when he slid the window shut. He looked away from him and clutched onto his sides. _"What-"_ he thought to himself, looking down at his sheets as he did. _"What was that..."_

The man was at lost for words. He quietly picked up the cloth beside him and held it out in front of him. "Uh, if you want it this is to cool you off a little. I don't know if your still hot or not so..."

Armin looked at the cloth for a moment before reaching out and taking it, feeling the coolness it brought to his heated skin. He let out a shaky breath and closed his eyes again, leaning back into his bed. He must have been worse than he thought he was, now he was actually starting to see things. He shifted his head over to the assistant- Moblit was it? "Thank you." He says softly.

Moblit gave him a nervous smile. "Yeah. Yeah, no problem."

And with that he left. Armin found himself alone once again, surrounded by empty silence. The only difference now was that he had a lot more trouble going back to sleep. Let alone keeping his attention away from the window.

* * *

 **Welp, what do you think? Also to answer some of your questions, this is taken place after the female titan was finally put to rest (locked up in her own crystal). I wanted it to take place at the very beginning, but for the sake of the plot, it made much more sense to put it around here. You'll understand why soon.**

 **Anyways, thanks for reading! :)**


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